How much does a website cost here in the UK? Well, there are two separate cost elements involved in the
creation of a web site.

The first is a minor cost that includes the registration of your domain name and what you pay the web hosting company to rent the Internet space for hosting the site.

The second is what you pay someone to actually create the site for you.

Details of both are outlined below and detailed instructions can be found
in the Domain Name Registration page. There may also be some on-going maintenance costs depending on how often you require changes to be made to
the site when it is complete.

Initial Website Costs and Charges

The first thing we'll have to do for you is to get your domain name selected and registered. An initial, one off setup fee is payable to the registrar at a price of about £3 - £10. We
can do this on your behalf but you need to do it yourself if you want to hold the registration of the name. Details of how to do this can be found here

How Much does it Cost to Run a Website - Ongoing Costs

The charges for the rent of your web space (website hosting) and e-mail, etc. will typically be something like £2 to £10 per month. These charges are payable in advance. Details of how
to do this are on this page. There is also a small annual charge for registration of your domain name. This can range from £3 per annum to £10
per annum.

Bottom Line - How much will you pay for a website?

How long is a piece of string? But seriously, a very basic web presence can be created for less than £200. Some companies will list prices per page but I don't do this. It does not make much
sense when a single web page can be extremely complex, involving lots of interactivity and graphics that need to be designed or it can be very simple, like the page that you are now reading, with
mostly text.

It is very difficult to be specific but as an example, I can create a low cost web site with a similar structure to this and 5 to ten pages for a very reasonable price, probably somewhere between £400
and £700. Very importantly, this will usually include effective search engine optimisation. Smaller sites will cost less. Please remember that you must supply the basic text information for
the site although we can often write this for you at an additional charge.

Website Design Consultancy Meetings

For low cost websites within this price range I cannot normally include a visit to your premises. Taking a few hours out of my schedule for a meeting and adding traveling costs would not be viable options for a £400
job.

Fortunately this is not a problem as everything can be done via email and the telephone. I don't actually get to meet many of my clients and meetings are generally only needed for large websites
and where detailed consultancy is involved.

Should the job be large enough a meeting can of course be arranged at no cost, or alternatively, if you need information and consultancy about your proposed website at your site I can do this on
a time and expenses basis.

Being a freelancer our meeting can take place at any mutually suitable time, including evenings and weekends. (We can even meet in a pub if you like :o)

(My Guarantee: As a freelance designer my overheads are low. I believe that my prices will beat most reputable web design agencies. If you are in doubt let me give you a quote then ask
someone else for a quote for the same work.)

Cost of Search Engine Optimisation

Search engine optimisation is the process of optimising your site to give it the best possible chance of being found on search engines when someone does a search for keywords related to your website
subject, product or service.

We can do this for you or offer advice, otherwise you may want to consider using a software package that will assist you to do it yourself. With basic computing knowledge
you may have some success but be warned - it will take weeks of your time.

Cost of Getting your Website Included (indexed) on the Search Engines

Once your site is created you must ensure that it is included (indexed) in the major search engines. Otherwise it's a bit like paying thousands to get an expensive brochure printed and
leaving it behind the stationary cupboard. There are several ways of doing this but the easiest way is to get other websites to link to you.

The search engines find new websites by following links from sites that are already in their index. If you can get a a few "inbound links" then you site will be indexed automatically. Contact
us if you need free advice on this.

Information on Specifying a Website (Creating a formal website specification for submission to designers
or web design agencies)

You may also visit our Links Page, which will direct you to independent advice and resources for small business and
small business websites and what you should be paying for these.